Evaluating mononuclear cells as nanoparticle delivery vehicles for the treatment of breast tumors

In breast cancer, certain types of circulating immune cells respond to long-range chemical signals from tumors by leaving the blood stream to actively infiltrate tumor tissue. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether immune cells could be used to deliver therapeutic nanoparticles into breast tumors in mice. Mononuclear splenocytes (MS) were harvested from donor mice, labeled with Indium-111, injected intravenously into immune-competent recipient mice (3 tumor-bearing and 3 control), and imaged longitudinally by SPECT/CT. For comparison, the biodistribution of bonemarrow derived macrophages (BMDM) in one pair of mice was also imaged. Quantitative analysis of the SPECT images demonstrates that, after 24 hours, the concentration of MS detected in mammary tumors is more than 3-fold higher than the concentration detected in normal mammary glands. The ratio of MS concentration in mammary tissue to MS concentration in non-target tissues (muscle, lung, heart, liver, spleen, and kidney) was enhanced in tumor-bearing mice (compared to controls), with statistical significance achieved for mammary/muscle (p